Don't miss this opportunity to look forward, gain encouragement and sharpen your focus for 2016. Gain wisdom for the coming season. Know the times, gain discernment and recognize the work of the Spirit around you.
"I waited on the Lord in December of 2015 to listen and gain some understanding of the season ahead. These are some of the characteristics and ways I think the Spirit will be working in 2016."
Jeff Reynolds
Get a copy at www.jeffreynoldsministries.com
Includes:
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The Value of Prophetic Ministry - basics on prophecy and stewarding rhema in your life
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The Back story on Jeff's prophetic journey
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Salvation's Mountain Erupting with the Gospel of Peace.
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29 Pages of encouragement.
Chapter Intro- The Value of Prophetic Ministry
The prophetic ministry is intended to do three primary things.
EncourageStrengthen
Comfort
That may not sound very supernatural, but in fact it is so vibrant, mystery filled and tangible to the advance of spiritual life and power for every believer, that it is second only to LOVE.
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you might prophecy." I Corinthians 14:1
The Church is the ambassadorial family of Christ. Called to demonstrate and carrying the presence of God in the Kingdom, we are invited to be a living vibrant people full of understanding in the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is constantly working to quicken us in the will of the Father. He is also uniquely pointing us to first love devotion for the Lord Jesus. It is through the prophetic ministry, rhema words, dreams, visions and corresponding Scripture, that we gain understanding of the times and seasons.
As we listen to the Spirit regularly and steward the prophetic grace given to us, we come into a greater abundance of words, insight and understanding for the seasons ahead.
Many believers are not oriented to capture and reap the abundant harvest of grace and encouragement available to them through the ministry of prophecy.
"This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.…" I Timothy 1:18
Here is how I've seen the story played out many times. We receive important prophetic words and ministry (I Corinthians 14:1). Cut to the heart in a personal word, our hearts are activated in the love of God and the reality that he knows our present day and moment (I Corinthians 14:24-25). We come alive! We awaken to the reality of what is common in the Kingdom of God. God's voice, his express communication to the heart, and the overwhelming witness of his love in the process. The Father's intention fills our hearts with both grace sufficient for the word and love and faith to walk in it. Amazing.
Then just as we were quickened we quickly forget. For the many reasons we face, hindrance, desire, understanding, opposition, we lose track of the rhema words given to us. Granted the most important words to keep are those given to us in Scripture. Believers are equally lax at dwelling richly in the Word of Christ. (Col 3). Without a solid Scripture foundation pursuing rhema words can be fruitless. Jesus gave us understanding of how we lose sight of the words of God.
Mark 4
- Enemy snatches them from our hearts.
- Tribulation and Persecution arises on account of the word and we fall away.
- The word is choked by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things. All these lead to a lack of fruitfulness.
Granted and vitally important, we are to test all words against the witness of Scripture, good sound teaching, and simple devotion to Jesus and the spirit and motivation it calls forth behind the word. Most rhema comes as confirmation of what we already know in our hearts; have already heard via rhema or dreams or the voice of God.
I Corinthians 14:24-25The atmosphere created by love and prophecy is alive with the testimony of Jesus and the glory of his heart revealing grace. The goal is to learn to breath the air of heaven. It is filled with every word from the mouth of God. If we lose sight of their benefit in discerning the times of our own walk, it is inevitable that our way is not as well lit as it can be.
"But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you."
Acts 21:10-14 gives us an example of prophetic ministry to encourage and strengthen. Paul was well aware of the Lord's direction in his return to Jerusalem. He had also had previous warnings regarding what might occur there. (Acts 20:23--24; 21:4) As he went on toward Jerusalem the rhema words increased and were more specific. Paul did not submit to the believers interpretations of the words, as he was already on the way as directed from the Lord. Yet, each word brought confirmation of his way and that he would face difficulty. Confirmation after confirmation. There were also interpretations that would have dissuaded him from finishing the journey. There are many interpretations of this process both negative and positive. The important thing to see is that God was speaking, the Saints were alive in the Voice of God and there was a measure of accuracy and weighing of the words.
Here are a few key assumptions.
The Spirit is amazingly faithful to provide direction and insight. (John 16:12-14)
The key factor is our continued engagement with the life and grace provided through stewarding and walking out the words we receive.God's world and way is filled with an overwhelming amount of VOICE. Mountains, stars, his Word of Scripture, the Faithful who carry his voice, and our ever expanding glory to glory faith to faith relationship with him. The world is alive with the prophetic testimony of the Lord Jesus. (Rev 19:10) We are called to abide in deep connection with the Lord Jesus as our everyday practice of following him and walking in the Spirit.
The Kingdom and our King are actively working for our success as Son's and Daughters. God never stops speaking. Yes, he often speaks on many subjects but the one we would love to hear first. Yet, even in this there is mystery, seeking, knocking and ongoing abiding that calls us deeper and deeper into knowing Jesus. We are treasure hunters and seekers of his face. He is perfectly able to lead us into walking by faith and not by sight. It's part of his ways.
What is prophetic ministry?
I have been asked this many times. It is a great question. There is a beautiful and amazing tradition of prophetic ministry throughout the Scripture. Graham Cooke's book Developing Your Prophetic Gifting is my first recommendation to explore the wider subject. There are many excellent books out there.
When I speak or write about the prophetic ministry I am really speaking about the boundless environment of the Kingdom of God and the Voice of the Spirit given to believers for encouragement, strengthening and comfort.I am seeing into the environment of the Kingdom of God through the life of Jesus, the Apostles, and Saints today. He is a living and active voice; one of guidance, direction, insight and understanding. Spiritual environments are evaporated of living water without this vital, clearly important ministry of the Spirit.
As we begin to see the vibrant nature of the Kingdom of God and the incredible repleteness of the Voice of God for us today, we see that the prophetic is like air to the motion of the Kingdom. As we follow and move with the direction of the Spirit, walking in the Spirit as Paul says, we both need understanding and find it available in abundance. To him who is given more will be given..... The stewarding of what we are given is a key piece in keeping the streams of living water open and flowing. Act on the word of God. Receive more. It is a simple way of obedience and love.
I'm not talking about end times interpretation of Scripture.
The interpretation of the end times coming of Christ Jesus is a vital study. It is given as encouragement for believers in the face of patient endurance and hope as we walk and believe for a building built by God. But it is not the full scope of prophetic ministry seen in the New Testament. I cannot address these topics here but point you to some resources at the end of this e-book.
Some see prophecy only as foretelling, but it is much more than that. In fact the primary job of a prophet is to teach others to live, breath and move in the prophetic grace of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:11-14). Prophets are not to do all the work as a front stage expert. It is to equip the body of Christ in the ministry of the prophetic.
The prophetic ministry helps us understand what lies ahead.
John 16:12-14
I see this passage as the Spirit helping us to understand the way ahead. As we walk with him, reflect on the past and present, he speaks of the future.
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.With this in mind we ask, what is the Holy Spirit pointing to for 2016?
What seasonal characteristics lie ahead? What is the Spirit leading us toward? When understood, these points of encouragement will help us walk in deeper understanding, purpose and power in bringing the light of the Gospel to the World around us?
What follows is just that. Weigh it for witness and confirmation. Keep what is encouraging and let the rest go. Above all pursue Jesus with first love zeal and walk in Word and Spirit in the abundant life in 2016 and beyond!
2016
Look forward, eyes filled with Abundance, Boundless, Victorious vision in Jesus.
Thanks for Reading!
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Here are some other blogs posts that may interest you.
1.http://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2015/01/7-things-enemy-devil-doesnt-want-you-to.html
With much love in Jesus
You can do this thing! He's got you.
Jeff Reynolds ---
Brother Jeff
www.jeffreynoldsministies.com
